GREENCASTLE, Ind. – The MIT men’s
track & field team entered the NCAA Division III Indoor
Championship with hopes of improving on their 32nd place
showing from a year ago. Bolstered by tremendous performances by
Stephen Morton and Greg Tao, the Engineers finished in
17th place out of 65 scoring teams.

Tao started things off on Friday morning for the Cardinal and
Gray in the pole vault. After clearing the first two heights, Tao
made it over the bar at 16-1.75 feet on his third attempt. That
height proved to be difficult for much of the field, as all but six
vaulters were knocked out by that point. This put Tao onto the
All-America stand with a sixth-place finish, improving on his
eighth-place showing in 2009.

Morton entered the meet with high expectations, coming in with
the top overall mark in the triple jump and was seeded second in
the long jump. After a disappointing foul out in the long jump,
Morton finished first in his preliminary flight of the triple jump.
The senior followed that up by shattering his own Institute record
in the finals, jumping 49-3.00 feet, just one half-inch behind the
National Champion, Chrys Jones of Centre College. The All-America
nod was the fifth in Morton's illustrious career, as he became the
most decorated jumper in Institute history.

MIT’s other entry in the meet was Kyle Hannon in the mile.
Hannon was the victim of a slow heat in the prelims, running
4:21.26, nearly 10 seconds slower than his season best.

North Central College won the team National Title with a total
of 52.3 points.